Public Safety

The public safety levy passed by Lane County voters last may has allowed the jail and youth services programs to expand. Yet the numbers are not back to pre-recession levels.

The Lane County Sheriff's office will soon hire its second wave of about 20 deputies. Additional jail beds will be opened accordingly. Sheriff Tom Turner says the prospect of hiring that many new positions is challenging, but the jobs are attractive:

Voters in three Oregon counties have rejected property tax increases to fund public safety and jails. The levies in Curry, Polk, and Columbia counties would have made up for cuts to federal timber aid.

Voters in Curry County on Oregon’s south coast soundly defeated their safety levy.That leaves the county 2 million dollars short of funding next year for the jail and six deputies. Commissioner David Itzen says the county may try one last time to pass a safety levy next May.

Voters in Curry County are considering a Public Safety Levy on the November 5th ballot which would help pay for rural sheriff patrols and the jail. There hasn't been much public effort to get out the vote.